A Crazy Little Thing Called Love
by MacGateFan
Summary: AU version of Real World with revenge thrown in the mix. ShepWeir.
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Crazy Little Thing Called LoveRating: PG  
Author: MacGateFan  
Spoilers: The Real World  
Notes: My Atlantis version with Shep/Weir playing a major role. Thanks for roinaarwen on LJ for the title as I was having trouble coming up with one. :D Whenever you see , that means the most or all of the quotes in that scene are from the episode itself.

-------------------------------------------------

John noticed that Elizabeth wasn't in her office. A glance to the right showed her out on the balcony. She looked as if she was holding onto the railing for dear life. "Elizabeth!" he called, rushing out.

When she turned to face him, his heart jumped into his throat. She was visibly pale and shakey. "John, I'm not..."

He rushed to her when her knees gave out. "Elizabeth!" he said again. Instead of replying, her eyes slipped closed. John wasted no time lifting her up and rushing back inside.

McKay was walking about, eyes glued to a laptop as John went by. He did a double take when he saw who the colonel was carrying. "What happened?" he wanted to know, following John down the hall.

"She just collapsed."

When they were finally in the infirmary, the medical team took her from there. John began pacing back and forth, he was a nervous wreck. He kept seeing her falling to the floor in his mind and suddenly, his heart was racing.

"Sheppard," a voice said. It was a familiar voice, but he couldn't bring himself to respond. A hand touched his shoulder. "John."

Rodney noticed he wasn't getting through to his friend so he called a nurse over to help out. She sat him down and forced him to look at her. "Colonel, breath. In and out." She nodded with a smile. "Good."

Rodney watched in awe as the young girl did her job. He knew he would never have a calming effect like that on anyone. He probably would have caused John to have a heart attack instead.

The nurse was about to put an oxygen mask on him, but he refused. "I'm fine," he told her. "Thanks."

She nodded, then went back to help Carson. John looked up to see Rodny staring at him in silence. "What?"

"Are you sure you're all right? I mean, that looked pretty serious."

"Drop it, Rodney," John replied, standing up. It was then that he noticed Carson was wearing a decontamination suit.

"What the hell?" Rodney followed him. "Doc, what's going on? Why is Elizabeth in quarantine?"

"Rodney, I'm going to need your help."

"Um, excuse me, but have you forgotten that the letters "MD" do not follow my name?"

Carson rolled his eyes. "Aye, I'm aware of that, Rodney, but we have a serious problem. Dr. Weir is infected with nanites."

------------------------------------------------

Teyla entered the infirmary, worry etched in her eyes. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to nod to Ronon. The pair walked over to Carson. He spotted them and smiled sadly. "Things are not well," he admitted.

"Has Dr. McKay come up with anything yet?"

Carson shook his head. "Nothing concrete as of yet. The way they're spreading we need to hurry, though."

"May we see her?" Teyla asked.

"Go right ahead, Love."

Ronon pointed at John with his head. He was asleep in a chair. "Dr. Becket," he said, "How long has been sitting there?"

"Too long," Carson replied, "but I dare not move him. That's the first time he's slept since he brought her here a few hours ago."

Teyla winced slightly. "That does not look comfortable."

Carson nodded in agreement as Rodney joined them. "For the record, I hate nanites and I hate replicaters."

Teyla's eyes widened. "It was Niam wasn't it?"

"When he attempted to choke her to death," Rodney said, "he let a few loose into her blood stream. There weren't that many so we couldn't detect them. What makes this even scarier is that Oberoth strangled me... That could have been me lying there."

Everyone ignored his comment as Carson went back to check on Elizabeth's vitals. "Her blood pressure is way too low. I feel so helpless right now."

-----------------------------------------------------

John woke up with a start. When he did, he had hoped to find that it was all a bad dream. But then he saw here lying there looking so lonely in the quarantined area. He heard Rodney behind him arguing with Carson.

He wouldn't shut up so John decided he was going to make him. He got up and clamped a hand on Rodney's shoulder. That action took away any adrenaline John had. "Rodney, calm down. You're both trying to accomplish the same goal. Shouting at each other isn't going to help Elizabeth."

Rodney glanced at Carson. The calm in John's face and the fact that he wasn't yelling was a little worrisome.

"Colonel," Carson said cautiously. "Are you all right?"

"Just peachy. I need some air, though."

"What's wrong with him?" Rodney asked.

"Rodney, if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not going to tell you."

-----------------------------------------------------------

John was half way to his quarters when he glanced at his watch. He cursed under his breath and turned around, heading for the control room. He was five minutes late to contact Earth.

As soon as he had informed General Landry about Elizabeth's condition, the man had wanted regular reports every few hours. "Carson," John said, tapping his earpiece. "Do you and Rodney have some kind of report ready for General Landry?"

"Aye, Colonel. I'll have Rodney transfer it to the control terminal."

"Thanks," he replied. "Okay, Chuck, let's call home."

Chuck nodded and dialed the 'Gate. John just wished the stupid thing would dial already so he could get back down to the infirmary. "Wormhole established, Colonel."

"Stargate Command, this is Atlantis, do you copy?"

"We read you Atlantis, please standby for General Landry."

John took a seat as he waited, but immediately stood when the officer appeard. "As you were, Colonel Sheppard. How's Dr. Weir?"

"She's holding her own, Sir. Dr. Beckett and Dr. McKay are still trying to find a solution. I'm sending their reports now."

"Thank you, Colonel. Is there anything you need?"

He looked around at the faces of everyone around him. "A morale booster, Sir?"

"Consider it done, Colonel. We'll have it for you within the hour."

"Understood, Sir. Thank you. Atlantis base out."

John turned to see Teyla seated in Elizabeth's office. He told Chuck to let him know when the morale booster arrived and headed into the office, sitting quietly. Teyla was so engrossed in the mission report that she didn't know he was there.

John cleared his throat and Teyla immediately looked up. "Colonel Sheppard. How long have you been sitting there?"

He grinned. "Not long. What were you reading?"

"Major Stanton's report on our new allies."

"Just so you know," he said, "she likes to exaggerate. A lot. Rumor has it she wrote children's books back on Earth."

"I'll remember that," Teyla replied with a smile. "How is Dr. Weir?"

John stood up and began pacing. Teyla watched her friend in concern. Now that she really had a chance to look at him, she noted his pale features and the dark circles under his eyes. Teyla's suspicions were confirmed. His comments, his actions. He was in love.

"John, you should tell her."

He stopped pacing and eyed her in confusion. "What should I tell who?"

"Dr. Weir. You should tell her your feelings."

John coughed. How had she known? "Teyla, I don't know what you're talking about.

She glared at him. "John Sheppard, you cannot fool me! I have seen more men fall in love and ignore it completely only to lose the women they loved."

John nodded slowly. "I hear you, Teyla, it's just..."

"What?" She could tell that she had just found a vulnerable side to her friend.

"I'm scared."

Teyla shut the door and made him sit. "That is understandable, but if you do not tell her, you will regret it."

He shrugged. "I know what you're saying, Teyla, but my Mom... my Dad just left her. Left us. I don't want to risk something happening to me and have her be all alone."

"John, love is not without risk. Besides, you are not your Father."

He suddenly gave Teyla a hug. "Thanks."

"You are welcome, John."

Before either could say more, Carson called. "Colonel Sheppard, Teyla, could you please come to the infirmary?"

-------------------------------------------------------

"What?" Rodney asked Carson.

"What?"

"It's that look. That's the same look I get when I have a brilliant idea."

John stared at Rodney skeptically. "How would you know how you looked?"

"Because it's happened more than once in front of a mirror, okay," Rodney replied as if it were obvious. "Carson, what is it?"

"I don't know about brilliant, but it just might... Excuse me!"

Rodney went after him. "What are you doing?"

John looked at Elizabeth. "You know, if Carson's right and you can hear me, I suppose I should say something profound." He paused, thinking. "Okay, I'm not so good at profound, but you should know, we're doing everything we can to get you through this."

John watched as Carson and Rodney set up an EM pulse to be directed through the scanner. Carson had already injected a little of the Wraith tissue into Elizabeth's leg. Now they were getting ready to attempt and rid her body of the nanites.

Carson took a deep breath as the pulse began to do it's job. He glanced over at the people around him. Teyla's eyes were wide and expressive, just as they always were. She gave him a small nod, then turned back to face Elizabeth.

He then looked over at Rodney. Carson could see a genuinely concerned face, but it was gone as quickly as it was seen, and his small grin as if to say he was going to be right (as usual) popped up.

Ronon was the hardest face to read out of the team. He proved to be very loyal and protective of those he trusted and Elizabeth Weir had slowly become one of them.

Carson eyed John. His eyes were full of sadness. John was more hopeful than all of them, but Carson could tell that the Air Force colonel didn't think it was going to work.

"It worked!" Teyla said in relief. Carson watched as John's head snapped up to look at the computer monitor.

"Carson, you might be an absolute..." Rodney began.

"Oh no! We didn't get them all."

Everyone stared at the screen. There was a small amount of nanites left in Elizabeth's brain. "How is that possible?" Teyla asked.

"I don't bloody know," Carson replied.

Rodney realized what happened. "They've been using organic tissue to replicate, which is why they're immune to the EM pulse."

"So now what?" Ronon asked Carson and Rodney. He glanced over at his friend he could tell that John was not going to give up on Elizabeth.

"You're not alone Elizabeth, we're right here with you. You have to fight this!"

"They've begun to spread faster," Rodny said, "We're losing her."

"Not yet, we're not!"

Rodney eyed him curiously. "What are you doing? What, are you crazy, she's been infected!"

Carson knew people did stupid things when they were in love, but this had to top it all. He secretly hoped that one day he'd feel that much about someone. He had hoped it could have been Perna.

He shook his head from his thoughts and went to the business of pulling John out of there...

_"Elizabeth."_

_"John."_

_"You've been infected by nanites. They're trying to take control of your mind and your body. Don't let them do it. You have to fight them. So fight."_

_Jack O'Neill appeard. "Elizabeth, you have to come with us. I'm sorry."_

_"You know which way you have to go," John paused. "Run."_

_------------------------------------------------ _

Carson entered John's isolation room. "Hey, Doc."

"That was careless of you, Colonel," he said, glancing at his notes.

"Maybe."

"Colonel?"

"Carson, I had to do it. I wanted her to know that she wasn't alone. I needed her to know..."

"What?" Carson asked, knowing full well what John was finally going to admit.

He took a deep breath. "How much I love her."

Carson smiled at him, placing his hand on John's shoulder. "It's about time, son. Why don't you go and tell her?"

"Now? You me I'm free to go?"

He nodded. "You've been in here for nearly four hours and you've shown no signs of the nanites. Rodney and I think it has to do with the ATA gene, but we'll have to do more research on that."

"Doc, I'm sorry I scared you guys like that."

"You've already explained yourself, Colonel, now go and see Dr. Weir."

"Yes, Sir!"

Carson watched as John ran off. He smiled. If he wasn't able to have someone right now, he didn't know anyone else who deserved love more than Colonel John Sheppard.

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That's all for now, folks. Comment if you'd like more and let me know what you're interested in seeing happen! )  
Thanks for reading!  
MacGateFan


	2. Chapter 2

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love  
Part 2  
Author: MacGateFan  
Disclaimers in Part 1  
Author's Notes: I'll be on a slight hiatus for the next few days as I venture to New Jersey for the Creation Stargate Con. Joe Flanigan, here I come:o)

* * *

Elizabeth was just about ready to snuggle under the covers to read when the chime rang. "Come in," she said.

She was a little surprised when John entered and was about to make a joke about it when she noted his appearance. He looked tired, pale, and he seemed to be visibly shaking.

"John!" Elizabeth exclaimed, taking his hand and leading him to a chair. She knelt next to him and before she could say another word, he wrapped his arms around her.

Elizabeth was still in a state of shock, but she accepted it. The warmth and tenderness she felt in that hug were exactly what she needed at that moment. As quick as it happened, though, it ended.

"What happened?" she asked gently. Is he crying? She thought. Yes, John Sheppard was crying in front of her.

He pulled away, looking a little embarrassed as she handed him a tissue. "Sorry," he muttered.

"No, it's all right," Elizabeth replied.

"I had a nightmare," John told her, "It was everything that happened in the past few days with the nanites, but we weren't able to save you. You died and there was nothing we could do!"

He kept avoiding her eyes. "John, look at me. John!"

"Elizabeth, I love you."

Okay, being surprised about his appearance when he first entered her quarters was nothing compared to what she was feeling right now. Not that she didn't return those feelings. God there were so many times she wanted to act on them.

John immediately stood up when she didn't respond right away. "I'm sorry." he said again. "I am way out of line here. I shouldn't have come. I should've just gone to Carson for a sleeping aid. It won't happen again, I promise."

"John!" she cried out, rushing to him. She grabbed his face and pulled it towards hers. Elizabeth relished the taste of his lips. She took a deep breath as they reluctantly pulled away from each other a few minutes later.

"I just wasn't expecting to hear you say that. I feel the same way, John. I love you. You were the only one who was able to get through to me. You told me to fight and I did. For you."

John hugged her close. "I have to admit, I have never felt this much love for anyone before," he whispered. "What are we going to do about this? We can't hide from it and even if we did, this expedition team is smart."

Elizabeth laughed. "That they are. Let's just keep it quiet for now. If it gets out, it gets out. I don't know about you, but I can't just turn off my feelings."

"We'll just have to remain professional," he replied with a nod. John grinned. "But only in the presence of others."

"You are incorrigible, John Sheppard."

"That's what my Mom always used to say."

* * *

He wasn't happy when he saw John Sheppard leaving Dr. Weir's quarters. He had a feeling he knew what was going with them. It was time for Dr. Weir's Golden Boy to be dealt with.

"Dr. Kavanaugh, is something wrong?"

"Not yet," he growled, stomping off.

Dr. Andria Whittamore stared after him in confusion. With a shrug, she headed towards the infirmary. As the base opthalmologist, she had a fair amount of eye exams to perform.

John looked behind him. He could have sworn someone was following, and he was right. "Dr. Whittamore," he said with a nod.

"Good morning, Colonel Sheppard," she replied. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"I just had a run in with Dr. Kavanaugh."

John looked at her in sympathy. "Sorry to hear that."

Andria laughed. "I know. Not a good way to start off your morning. Anyway, I just thought you might want to know that he's been nosing around Dr. Weir's quarters. I asked him if something was wrong and he said, 'Nothing yet'. Seemed a bit odd to me."

John nodded. "Thanks for letting me know. I'm still trying to figure out why he's still here."

"Who knows? Maybe he loves to be hated?" She glanced at her watch. "I'm going to be late. Have a good day, Colonel."

"You too, Dr. Whittamore."


	3. Chapter 3

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love  
Part 3  
Author: MacGateFan  
Disclaimers in Part 1

* * *

Kavanagh looked around; making certain no one was following him. As long as everything went according to plan, Sheppard would be lying in the infirmary by tomorrow morning!

He glanced at his watch, knowing Dr. Maria Cunningham would be arriving in the chemistry lab shortly. She would have no choice but to cal in the head of security when she noticed someone had broken into her lab.

Yes. Everything would be perfect!

* * *

Maria walked down the hall towards her office, glancing through one of her assistant's report on the affect of hydrofluoric acid to some of the Atlantean plants. She looked up and nodded at Kavanagh as he walked past her. Goodness how she despised that man!

With a shrug, Maria entered her lab.

* * *

John was just about to head off to his quarters when someone's panicked voice came over the radio. "Colonel Sheppard, this is Maria Cunningham in chem lab three. We have a situation down here."

"What's wrong?" he asked, heading for the nearest transporter.

"I found some sort of explosive device. It's set to go off in about seven minutes!"

"I'll be right down," John replied worriedly. "Elizabeth, I need Lt. Cadman and a containment team down to chem lab three ASAP. Dr. Cunningham thinks there's some kind of explosive device set to go off. Big explosions and chemicals are not a good mix."

"Understood, John. I'll contact them now. Be careful."

"Will do."

John arrived in chem lab three to find a frantic doctor on his hands. "Colonel!" she exclaimed, "I don't know what to do. If that goes off..." She shook her head.

"We'll be fine," he replied. "Lt. Cadman is on her way. She's an explosives expert."

He took a deep breath and sighed. Things could never be easy. The makeshift timer said they had less than two minutes to disarm the bomb. Cadman wasn't going to make it in time. "Everyone stop where they are!" he ordered.

"Colonel?"

"Sir?"

"John?"

John paid the most attention to Elizabeth's cry. He never heard so much emotion in one word before. "Stop!" he said again. "We'll be fine and there's no time for you guys to get down here!"

John grabbed Maria by the arm and shoved her out the door just as the timer went off. He was surprised that there was no explosion, however the door slid shut. John inched closer to the device, stopping when his eyes began to burn.

"John!"

He was snapped from his reverie by Elizabeth's voice. John's throat began to bother him as well and he began to cough. Whatever the hell was in that vile was not healthy for him as now he was having trouble breathing.

Spots danced in front of his eyes as he sank to the floor. His last thought was of Elizabeth and how he wished he could kiss her again.

* * *

Rodney growled, moving to the door controls. The tech upstairs was having trouble getting them to respond to his commands, which pretty much meant that someone had purposely rigged them to close in first place.

The astrophysicist was betting that it was the same person who set the device off. If Rodney ever found out who it was, he was not going to be responsible for his actions.

"Dr. Cunningham, are you all right, love?" Maria nodded slowly as Carson, complete with a red containment suit knelt beside her. "I'm going to send you up to the infirmary with one of my nurses just to be certain, all right?"

"All right. Dr. Beckett, I think Colonel Sheppard may have been exposed to hydrofluoric acid."

Carson nodded. "Thank you. That will be most helpful. Go on now." He walked over to Rodney. "When you get that door open, you might want to get out of the area as soon as possible. I don't know how fast the chemical is going to spread and what it does."

"Yes, yes, of course," Rodney replied. "And interrupting doesn't help!"

Carson shook his head and left Rodney to his work.

* * *

Elizabeth's heart was slamming against her ribcage. She was nervous and beyond pissed. Whoever had set this up was going to have a line of people waiting to beat them to a pulp. Elizabeth said a silent prayer of thanks that Teyla and Ronon were currently on the mainland.

She looked up when she heard a knock at the door. "Major Lorne, please come in. I assume you've heard what happened to Colonel Sheppard?"

"Yes, I have, Dr. Weir," he replied. She could tell he wasn't too happy about it either.

"I want you to start an investigation. I want to know how this was able to happen and want the culprit found immediately!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Lorne said.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "Talk to Dr. Cunningham first. She was the last one with Colonel Sheppard."

* * *

Rodney let out an exclamation when the doors finally opened. He stepped aside to allow Carson and his team into the room. "I got it, Elizabeth," he said.

"Good job, Rodney. Now get out of there before Carson kicks your ass."

Rodney took a quick glance in the room. He shuddered thinking how close they came to losing him again. What was it with Sheppard and bad luck? He seemed to have it spades! With a sigh, Rodney headed up to the infirmary. He wanted to be there for his friend.

"Colonel Sheppard, can you hear me, son?" Carson pursed his lips. "His breathing is hitched, let's get him upstairs quickly now!"

"Doc?" John gasped out as they placed him on the gurney.

"Aye, Colonel. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit. My eyes are... burning; I can't... can't seem to open them."

Carson placed a hand on his forehead. "Rest for now, John. We'll get you fixed up in no time, I promise."

"Know you will, Doc."

"Let's go ladies and gentlemen!"


	4. Chapter 4

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love  
Part 4  
Author: MacGateFan  
Disclaimers in Part 1

* * *

"Colonel, I need you to open your eyes for me, son."

John didn't want to open his eyes because they were on fire. They didn't bother him so much when they were closed. "No," he managed to choke out. His breathing was getting somewhat better he noticed.

"We need to wash your eyes out and we can't do that when they're closed."

"They hurt, Carson."

Carson took a deep breath and looked at the other physician. They both knew how much that admission cost John. "I know, but Dr. Whittamore and I are trying to help you."

John nodded slowly and opened his eyes. His immediate reaction to the cold air was to shut them, but he leaned over the sink as Carson and Andria did their work. He noticed that everything was blurred.

He wondered how much time had passed because Carson was telling him to close his eyes again. "Colonel," Dr Whittamore said, "we're going to cover your eyes for now. Are they still bothering you?"

"It's just a slight tingle," John replied, wincing. He really didn't want to mention the massive headache that was building up behind them.

"Colonel, what's wrong?"

He knew he'd been stupid to try and hide it from Carson Beckett. "Headache."

Before Carson could reply, John's legs gave out. The two doctors rushed to grab his arms before he fell to the floor. "John!"

"Sorry," he muttered as the helped him to one of the beds. "Guess having my eyes covered and a headache has made me a bit dizzy."

"You have a gift for understatement, Colonel," Carson said.

When John was finally settled, he let out a slow deep breath. He was feeling slightly better, but his head was still pounding. He smiled gratefully at Carson when he felt the cool pain medication filled his veins.

* * *

Elizabeth leaned against the railing, looking out into the ocean. She closed her eyes as a warm breeze filled the air. Major Lorne was no closer to finding out who orchestrated this whole mess than he was when she ordered him to do so.

She was about to head inside when a voice came over her radio. "I hear your precious Sheppard is having some difficulties."

"Kavanagh!" she exclaimed, recognizing the voice immediately. "You're responsible for this, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"Where are you?"

"No, it doesn't work like that, Dr. Weir," he replied. "Go down to the chair room. I'll be meeting you shortly. Oh, and come alone!"

He clicked off before she could say anything. Elizabeth took a deep breath and headed for one of the weapons lockers. The guard on duty eyed at her questioningly. "Just checking on something for Colonel Sheppard," she told him.

Making certain he wasn't looking, Elizabeth grabbed one of the 9 mils and an extra clip, silently thanking John for teaching her how to fire one. She would be damned if Kavanagh was going to get away with this!

* * *

"Are you certain, Andria?"

"I'm afraid so, Carson. There's a good chance that Colonel Sheppard will be blind."

John did not like what he was hearing. It was bad enough sitting around with gauze covering your eyes and now they were saying he might never see again? His stomach began to hurt when he thought of never flying a Jumper again, never seeing the beauty of Atlantis, or never seeing Elizabeth's gorgeous eyes staring back at him.

Carson mentally scolded himself when he glanced at John's heart monitor. He put a hand on Andria's arm to get her attention. The color drained from her face when she realized John heard every word.

"Carson?" John asked. "Say something."

"I'm sorry, John."

"Don't be sorry, Doc, you were going to have to tell me anyway. So is this going to be a permanent thing?"

Andria shook her head. "I don't believe so, but I don't want to get your hopes up too high. We're just going to have to take this one day at a time, okay?"

"Yeah."

The doctors shared a glance. They could tell John wasn't convinced. "We'll let you rest now, Colonel, before Rodney arrives and keeps you awake," Carson told him. The best thing he could do for himself was sleep.

"Thanks, Docs," John replied.

As he drifted off to sleep, John idly wondered where Elizabeth had gone off to. He hadn't heard from her since earlier in the day. Maybe she was trying to avoid him. He decided that maybe he should escape for a bit.

One question remained: How was he going to pull it off?


	5. Chapter 5

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love  
Part 5  
Author: MacGateFan  
Disclaimers in Part 1

* * *

John wanted to test a theory. Usually during the nights when he had trouble sleeping, he would be soothed by a comforting sound that lulled him into slumber.

At first, he just thought it was his imagination running away with him, but now that he was blind, he felt the sound all around him.

The sound wasn't deafening or frightening, completely the opposite. It was sweet and soft, almost like a babbling brook and wind flowing through trees.

John was a little nervous about talking to someone regarding this as he really believed the sound was Atlantis. He just knew that one mention of hearing those sounds would send him straight to Kate Heightmeyer's couch.

So, John laid quietly on his infirmary bed and waited for a few minutes, hoping that Atlantis would let him know when it was all clear and he could sneak away to find Elizabeth.

John was about to give up after 20 minutes of concentrating when he suddenly felt as if a force was helping him out of the bed. John complied, hoping this was Atlantis and not some ghostly entity.

Not that he believed in that sort of thing...

He walked much more gracefully than anyone else would in his situation. He was led to a transporter and hesitantly stepped into it. As he did, he realized that this was probably the stupidest idea he ever had.

No, make that the second stupidest because he didn't have a radio with him.

* * *

Elizabeth waited as patiently as possible in the chair room. Kavanagh was late and she was really pissed at the man because all she wanted to do was sit at John's bedside and hold his hand.

She had been avoiding him and she felt horrible about it. John needed all his friends near him so he could get through this ordeal that he was put into.

When Ronon and Teyla received their call about this, they were immediately ready to return, but a small storm had hit the Athosian settlement so they had to wait until morning. She could practically hear Ronon's unamused grunt.

Elizabeth knew Kavanagh was behind her before he said anything and turned to face him, weapon at the ready. He stared at her with an amused expression on his face. "What's so funny?" she growled.

"You, Dr. Weir. You can't tell me you're not ruled by your emotions. I saw Sheppard leaving your quarters earlier today. If you want to keep this little charade going on, that's fine, but I'm going to get a little respect around here first."

Elizabeth didn't know what to say. Kavanagh was blackmailing her! "You can't force people to respect you, Kavanagh, you have to earn it!"

"You will assign me as the chief science officer or I will go to Stargate Command and tell them what's going on."

Her hands shook as she held the foreign object. All she had to do was pull the trigger and Atlantis would be rid of this particular problem forever. After all, he did attempt to murder John, it's not like she wouldn't have a good reason.

Elizabeth was angry at herself for thinking that way. As much as she hated to admit it, Kavanagh was still a human being (although at times it was debatable).

They both turned when they heard footsteps. "Elizabeth?"

* * *

_Damn it, Atlantis,_ he thought as he rubbed his nose, _that was a door I just ran into!_ Why it didn't open was beyond him.

John tensed when heard voices coming just a few feet away. He felt along the wall until his hand pushed through an opening. The chair room echoed in his mind. She was in here, he could feel her.

"Elizabeth?"

"John?" she said, dropping the gun and rushing to his side. "What are you doing? Should you even be up?"

Kavanagh shook his head at the scene unfolding before him. This was getting out of hand and right now he hated the two people standing nearby so much. He slowly moved towards the gun that Elizabeth dropped and bent down to pick it up.

"There you are! I was wondering where you were. I missed you."

She smiled. "I missed you too. I'm sorry; I've been so busy trying figure out who did this to you..." Elizabeth trailed off when she realized Kavanagh was no longer behind her. "He's gone."

"Who?"

"Kavanagh. He was the one behind all this!"

John felt Atlantis whisper in his ear that someone was behind him. He turned towards Kavanagh and managed to deflect the gun just as it went off. He cursed when he felt it graze his knee cap and swiftly punched Kavanagh in the face.

Elizabeth's heart went into her throat when the gun discharged, sighing in relief when she saw John was still alive and Kavanagh appeared to be unconscious. She could tell he was in pain, though.

"John, are you all right?" she asked.

"Damn bullet nearly tore my knee cap off," he gasped out.

"I'll call Carson."

"He's going to kill me."

She smiled, helping him to floor. "Temporary insanity, John."

Before Elizabeth could call said physician, she heard his angry Scottish brogue over the airwaves. "I swear I'm going to lock him in a containment room when he gets back up here!"

"Nevermind," she told him, "he's going to kill you."


	6. Chapter 6

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love  
Part 6  
Author: MacGateFan  
Disclaimers in Part 1

* * *

John hissed as Carson worked on bandaging his knee. "Are you finished yet, Doc?"

Carson glared at his recalcitrant patient despite the fact that he couldn't see. "Colonel Sheppard may I remind you that you wouldn't have been in this predicament to begin with if you hadn't wondered off!"

"Oh, and I suppose it we would be better off with Elizabeth lying in a pool of blood?"

"Your only saving grace right now is that she's not lying in a pool of blood," Carson replied with a sigh. "That and the fact that Kavanagh is behind bars."

"Sorry," he muttered. "I just had to."

Carson was confused now. "What do you mean by that? What was so important you couldn't wait for someone to help you?"

"I needed to see Elizabeth."

"Colonel, I know that your relationship with her has changed significantly over the past few days, but couldn't you have let me known? I would have contacted her for you."

John took a deep breath. He had no idea how to explain his connection with Atlantis to Carson. Would the physician understand him or send him back to Earth in a straight jacket?

"All right, Doc, pull up a chair," John replied. "I hope you'll listen before you jump to any conclusions about my sanity."

Carson nodded, wondering where this was going. "Aye, go ahead, son."

"The ATA gene is present in the both of us without your therapy, but what was your initial thought when you first stepped into Atlantis?"

Carson thought back to that day. He remembered feeling safe and peaceful and told John that. "I don't know, it was like I was home with my Mum. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I haven't really felt that way since."

"I felt that way too, Carson," John replied, "but it's stayed with me. I used to have trouble sleeping a lot because of nightmares and even though I still have them, they're not as bad as they used to be. It's like... it's like someone is singing me to sleep."

He watched as Carson listened intently to every word he was saying. "Carson, I really needed to see Elizabeth earlier and the only way I could do it was to concentrate and listen to Atlantis. She told me where to find her. She told me Kavanagh was behind me. If it weren't for her, we'd both be dead right now."

Carson was speechless for a few minutes. When he finally spoke, he said, "Rodney is going to be so jealous of you!"

John laughed. "Probably."

* * *

Jealous would not begin to describe Rodney McKay. _How did Sheppard get so lucky_, he thought. First he has complete control of every piece of Ancient technology with barely a thought and now this!

What Rodney wouldn't give for a chance to talk to the city and learn more about her. Hmm... that gave him an idea. "Can you contact her again?"

"I guess I could. I don't really remember what I did last time."

Carson and Andria walked over to them. "Colonel Sheppard, I'd like to check your eyes before you do anything," Andria said.

"Yes, please," John replied. "I am so sick of darkness."

Andria dimmed the lights and went to the task of removing the bandage. "Keep your eyes closed for right now."

John felt a cool breeze on his eyes and inwardly smiled as Atlantis whispered, _You will be all right, John Sheppard._

"Okay, Colonel, you can open your eyes."

Carson and Andria silently waited for John to say something. They sighed in relief when he told them he could see, although things were still a bit blurry. "That's to be expected," Andria told him. "I'm going to test the PH in your eyes and then I'll get some eye drops for you."

"Other than the blurriness, Colonel, how do you feel?" Carson asked.

"I'm fine." Carson gave him a look that said, 'Pull the other one'. "My knee is killing me, but I think you know that already."

He nodded. "Aye that I do. I'll just get something for that."

"So what's it like?"

"Rodney," John said, "I really don't want to talk about this right now. Carson is going to give me some happy juice so I can take a nap and ignore the pain in my knee. We'll talk later, okay?"

Carson chose that moment to return a little surprised at John's comment, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "That's a good idea. I know you all want to sit here and watch the Colonel sleep, but something tells me you all have more pressing things to take care of?"

Teyla nodded. They were going to meet with Dr. Weir and Colonel Caldwell to discuss what was to be done with Kavanagh. "Colonel, I am happy to see you will be all right."

He smiled. "Thanks, Teyla," he said.

Ronon nodded, following her out while Rodney just sat and stared at him.

"Rodney?"

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, I'm going now."

John laughed when he heard Rodney mutter, "It's just not fair!"


	7. Chapter 7

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Part 7

Author: MacGateFan

Disclaimers in Part 1

* * *

Elizabeth looked at everyone present for the meeting, and then turned to the man on her right. "Colonel Caldwell, I trust Major Lorne briefed you on the situation?" At his nod, Elizabeth continued. "What are your thoughts on how to handle Dr. Kavanagh?"

Caldwell had a feeling he knew what direction the Atlantis personnel's thoughts were going. "I'm waiting to hear back from General Landry. He said he spoke to the President about this."

"I hope you realize that everyone in this city currently loathe Kavanagh at this time," Rodney said. "You should just take him back to Earth now. Why does the President get the final say? Kavanagh almost killed a man and tried to blackmail someone, what more would you need to be convinced?"

Ronon glared at Caldwell. "If this is the way your government works, it sucks."

"I agree," Teyla said, "attempting to murder someone is an offense that would result in banishment among my people. Surely you would have a similar action in place."

"We do," Elizabeth replied.

Rodney coughed. "Just not as humane." He shut up when Elizabeth gave him a look that said she wasn't in the mood.

"Don't misunderstand me," Caldwell said, "I am just as pissed off at Kavanagh as the rest of you, but the only person I answer to is the President."

Elizabeth felt like she was suffocating in the tension that was building in the room. She glanced over at Lorne, who gave her a shrug. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait for the President," she replied.

* * *

John was quietly sliding off his bed, when Carson walked over. He had yet to see the Scotsman as his back was to him. Wincing, John turned around when he had finally removed the IV.

Carson had never seen a man jump so high. He quickly grabbed John's arm to steady him, shaking his head. "Are you daft, son? What kind of stunt was that? And I can't believe I scared you, of all people!"

John just glared at Carson as the doctor helped him back onto the bed. "Sorry, I have to go to the bathroom."

"That's what this is for, Colonel," Carson replied sweetly, handing him a bedpan. John sighed and took it, muffling a cry as the movement aggravated his injured knee. "What am I going to do with you?"

He was about to reply when Elizabeth walked over. "And how's our patient doing?"

"I'm fine," John replied just as Carson said, "He nearly killed himself!"

She smiled at them, amused. "What did you do now?"

"Um, apparently I'm going to leave my mark on this bed because I still have to use this damn bed pan!" John growled, face red.

Carson's eyes widened and moved to pull Elizabeth away, making certain to secure the curtain around his patient's bed. "Sorry about that!" he called.

When John had finished his… business, Elizabeth appeared from behind the curtain. "Carson told me what you did. John, that wasn't very smart, you could have injured yourself even more."

"Truthfully, if I had seen the bedpan, I wouldn't have gotten up." She stared at him in disbelief. "Okay, so I didn't want to use the damn thing, can you blame me?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "No, I can't, but next time call for help."

"Yes, Mom," he replied.

Elizabeth just stared into those innocent eyes. She never noticed the flecks of green in them before. He absolutely took her breath away. It was then that she realized she had come close to losing him twice and the second time was her fault!

"Hey," John said, reaching out to wipe a tear from her cheek. She hadn't even noticed she was crying. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For what?"

"Kavanagh almost killed you because of me."

John seemed to be confused by this statement. "I don't follow you, Elizabeth. As far as I know, Kavanagh did this all on his own. How are you responsible?"

"When we were in the chair room, Kavanagh was trying to blackmail me into making him head of the science department. He said if I didn't, he would tell General Landry about our involvement. I got scared and I was so pissed off at him for hurting you that I picked up the gun before I went to meet him."

He took a deep breath. John was pissed off at Kavanagh too. Not for attempting to kill him, but for the fact that he had caused Elizabeth so much pain, even if it wasn't physical.

"So what's going to happen to him?"

"You're not going to believe this, John," Elizabeth replied. He eyed her curiously, waiting for her to continue. "The President is coming to Atlantis."

Okay, that threw him for a loop. "Are you serious? Who's bright idea was that? Do they realize how much danger he could be in if he came out here?"

"Yes, General O'Neill, who's coming too, and yes. Colonel Caldwell is currently setting up security parameters for his visit."

John yanked the covers off and was about to remove his IV again when Elizabeth stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"If the President is coming here, I should be dealing with this, not Caldwell."

Elizabeth sighed. "At least talk to Carson about this. If he agrees to it, then I won't stop you."


	8. Chapter 8

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love  
Part 8  
Author: MacGateFan  
Disclaimers in Part 1  
Note from the Author: Sorry for the premature posting of this chapter. I didn't realize that what I had written didn't upload fully for some reason. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

Kavanagh watched soldiers, from the Daedalus he saw, relieved the others. He idly wondered if they knew what had transpired and why they were guarding a member of the science team. 

He decided to find out. "Hey," he called.

The shorter of the two stepped over to him. He just glared at Kavanagh. He hadn't heard exactly what the guy did, just that he needed to be guarded. "What?"

"I'm here under unfounded accusations. I need help. Maybe if you could just unlock the cell, dial the Gate and just let me leave Atlantis, everything would be all right.

"Sorry, Doc, no can do. I have direct orders not to open this door no matter what."

Kavanagh was curious as to why the guy hadn't been informed of the situation. Oh well, it was just going to bite the expedition team on the ass. "Look, could you at least let me use the bathroom?"

"I guess that would be all right, what do you think, Heinz?"

Heinz didn't seem too interested and responded, "Whatever."

This was going to be much easier than Kavanagh thought.

* * *

John watched everyone work from his seated position on the stairs. Carson allowed him to join the festivities with the promise that he used the crutches and wouldn't do anything exceptionally physical. 

Hey, he didn't mind watching other people do the work.

He turned when he heard footsteps coming towards him. "The Daedalus is hear," Elizabeth told him.

John nodded and struggled to get up. He smiled at Elizabeth gratefully as she prevented him from falling down the stairs. Carson would not be too pleased if he injured himself further even before the President was beamed down.

"Lorne," John said, "everyone in position?"

"Yes, Sir."

John and Elizabeth moved closer to the Gate as a transport beam appeared and quickly deposited Colonel Caldwell and President Hayes. "Welcome to Atlantis, Mr. President," Elizabeth said.

Hayes looked around in stunned silence for a few minutes before reply. "Thank you, Dr. Weir. I have to say this place is much bigger than I thought it would be."

"We thought the same, sir," John replied.

John was about to say more when he began to fill dizzy and would have fallen to his knees if Elizabeth and Lorne hadn't caught him. He immediately felt as if Atlantis was warning him about something.

"Kavanagh!" he exclaimed, pulling himself from their grasp. He ignored Elizabeth as she called out for him.

Atlantis was telling him he had to get to the weapons locker near the cell as fast as possible. Not only did he have to protect the members of his expedition team, but the President as well.

John ignored the pain in his knee and let the adrenaline push him. Kavanagh was not going to get away with this! Whoever Lorne had put in charge of him was going to get an earful from him.

John arrived at the weapons locker just as Kavanagh did. He grabbed the scientist by the arm and slammed him into the wall. "What the hell is your problem?"

"I'm sick of all you!" Kavanagh exclaimed. "You and Weir especially! The two of you are always up each other's asses and never care about the safety of this expedition team. Do you know how many times you've put this city in danger? It all started with that damn Wraith bug."

John was shaking with anger. How dare this idiot scientist presume he didn't care about this expedition team? He was so angry that he couldn't formulate any words and neglected to see Kavanagh as his leg aimed for John's injured knee.

John fell to the floor as white, hot pain coursed through his leg. He saw Kavanagh moving out of the corner of his eye so he reached out and grabbed the man's leg, forcing him to the floor as well.

John edged closer to the unmoving form next to him, checking for a pulse. He was only slightly relieved to find one. He realized Kavanagh must have hit his head on the floor.

It was then he realized that Elizabeth was frantically calling him over the radio. "I'm fine!" he exclaimed. "I need some help down here, though. Medical team would be great too."

Elizabeth was worried beyond belief until she heard his voice filtering through her earpiece. She noted that it sounded strained. Taking a deep breath, she began issuing orders and calling for a medical team.

She suddenly remembered their guest. Apparently, he was running towards the chaos with her (his guards too, of course). "Mr. President."

"Sorry," he replied. "Couldn't resist."

She smiled. "We should go down to the infirmary and meet Colonel Sheppard there."

"Lead the way, Doctor."

When they arrived at the infirmary, four guards, including Major Lorne were standing in front of a curtained off area. Elizabeth walked over to him. "Major."

"Ma'am, Sir," he replied. "Dr. Kavanagh was knocked unconscious, but Colonel Sheppard insisted we keep an eye on him."

"Good idea," President Hayes said. He decided he needed to have a chat with the man.

"Sir?"

"It's all right, Major, I'll just be five minutes."

"Yes, Sir."

As the President disappeared behind the curtain, Carson walked over to Elizabeth, pulling her aside. "Are you all right, Love?"

"Of course I am, Carson." He gave her a look. "I was a bit shaky before, but now that I know he's still alive. God, when I couldn't reach him, I felt sick to my stomach! Could you imagine John Sheppard being taken down by an idiotic scientist?"

Carson shook his head. "Never. Where's the President?"

The man in question stepped into view. "That was fun. Dr. Weir, I'm going to recommend that Kavanagh return to Earth and be evaluated. The man is off his rocker. As for Colonel Sheppard, I think a commendation is in order."

"It's about time," Elizabeth told him.

How many times has John Sheppard saved their asses only to be denied any sort of commendation by the military just because of that black mark from Afghanistan? He deserved to have something go right in his life.

* * *

"Are you finished being the hero for the next month?" Rodney asked. 

John sighed. "You know, you're more than welcome to take a turn, Rodney. I'm tired of getting injured for you."

"Ha ha."

"We are just glad everything has turned out for the best," Teyla said, effectively silencing their banter.

"Yeah, well, my knee hurts like hell. Do you think one of you could find Carson for me and see if he has anymore of the good stuff?"

Rodney crossed his arms. "Only if you tell us about this connection to Atlantis. Elizabeth said she told you about Kavanagh."

"It's hard to explain, Rodney, I..."

"Sheppard?" Ronon said.

"Colonel, are you all right? Dr. McKay, get Dr. Beckett."

Before Rodney could move, John grabbed his hand. "Close your eyes Rodney."

"What?"

"Just do it."

_Rodney did so and soon heard a female's voice in his head. "Dr. McKay," she said, "I owe you so much. Please continue to watch over me as I watch over all of you."_

_"Atlantis."_

_"Yes. I thank you, Doctor."_

John and Rodney opened their eyes to see everyone staring at them, worry etched on their faces. "Bloody hell, what just happened?" Carson cried out.

Rodney smiled. "I just had a chat with Atlantis."

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

The Atlantis expedition team as well as the crew of the Daedalus was spread out among Stargate Operations. At the top of the stairs stood President Henry Hayes, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, and Colonel John Sheppard.

President Hayes looked around at the brave men and women around him. "I could not have chosen a better group of individuals myself. There is one man in particular we need to recognize here today. From the daunting task of becoming Atlantis' base commander to the most recent of events, this man has performed above and beyond the call of duty.

"It is with great pleasure that I present the Air Force Commendation Medal to Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard."

John glanced behind him at Elizabeth, who nodded. He smiled back at her, then turned back to face President Hayes who was pinning on the medal. He couldn't believe this was really happening. True, no one outside of Atlantis or the SGC would know about it, but the fact that the President was recognizing it gave him the hope that they would one day beat the Wraith.


End file.
